Evaluation and usability study of low-cost laparoscopic box trainer “Lap-Pack”: a 2-stage multicenter cohort study

Introduction:

Laparoscopic training is restricted in low resource settings due to limited access to specialist training equipment and financial constraints. This study aimed to evaluate simulation skills and usability of an original low-cost laparoscopic trainer, the “Lap-Pack,” developed at the University of Leeds, UK.

Methods:

Stage I evaluation was conducted in Kolkata (India) between March, 12 and 14, 2019. Laparoscopic simulation training was based on the 5 domains of fundamentals of laparoscopic surgery (FLS), which assessed skill acquisition across 7 rural surgeons from North-East India. The McGill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skills (MISTELS) criteria was used to statistically analyze trainee performance between pretraining and posttraining sessions. Also, Lap-Pack was qualitatively compared with a commercial box trainer, Inovus Pyxus HD (IPHD). Stage II involved a multi-center usability study in 2 centers of India and the United Kingdom (2019). Seventy-eight participants performed 2 FLS tasks using Lap-Pack and provided scores on a 25-point questionnaire, including a preestablished Face-Validity Criteria and 4 evaluation categories—Usability, Camera, View, and, Material.

Results:

In stage I, the total posttraining MISTELS score for Lap-Pack was higher, that is 773.37 (SD: 183.67) than pretraining score, that is 351.2 (SD: 471.5). The posttraining scores showed laparoscopic skill acquisition with statistically significant (P<0.05) difference for precision cutting, intracorporeal and extracorporeal knot. In stage II, Lap-Pack scored highly in Face-Validity with a combined mean score of 4.81 [95% confidence interval (CI): 4.52–5.09, P<0.05] out of a possible 6. It scored highest (scale: 1=low to 7=high) in Usability 6.14 (95% CI: 6.05–6.22, P<0.05) and Camera 6.14 (95% CI: 6.01–6.27, P<0.05). The “Lightweight” (6.46, 95% CI: 6.32–6.60, P<0.05) and “Portability” (6.35, 95% CI: 6.18–6.51, P<0.05) features of Lap-Pack were appreciated.

Conclusion:

The Lap-Pack is a suitable low fidelity simulator for laparoscopic training in a low-resource setting.